Cross the Rift of This Space Between
by Jason M. Lee
Summary: The lines of the living and the dead are sometimes solidly defined when awake. Those lines aren't as clear-cut in the realm of dreams. There's a reason why going into creepy mansions under snowfall is always a bad idea. For DMC Gen Week 2019 on Tumblr, Day 5 - Dreams/Nightmares. Follows "Nibble, Nibble", after "Hygge and Wabi-Sabi".


_Devil May Cry_ and _Resident Evil_ © Capcom

* * *

**Cross the Rift of This Space Between**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

A bell.

A soft jingle.

Far, far away, but still audible.

If someone was ringing a bell, then maybe...

He ran up the stone stairs, lungs burning as short legs moved.

Mom... He might be able to see Mom again.

Stone lanterns with their light that seemed more like fireflies than candles lined the pathway.

Their orange glow did not offer any comfort.

The bell beckoned.

He wanted to see Mom so badly.

So many things unspoken, that he wanted to say.

The sudden appearance of snow only made his steps falter briefly, but he kept going.

The gradual chill didn't stop him either, even with his small boots, shorts and thin shirt.

"Mom..."

_One bell..._

A glimpse of bright yellow in the gloom, barely hidden by low tree branches.

"Mom."

Some of the tree branches were like claws, reaching out to him, but he shoved them aside, ignoring the scratches.

He didn't know how long he ran. The moon didn't seem to move from its position in the sky.

Steps ended in a large courtyard before an enormous mansion. He wasn't sure of the exact design, other than that it looked nothing like the ones he's seen around home. 'East Asian' drifted through his mind before it was swept away like smoke on a breeze. The shadows around the roof's eaves loomed, making the mansion appear larger.

His focus was on the woman walking towards the large double doors, whose gold hair that stood out amidst the varying shades of gray and dark blues.

_Two bells..._

"Mom!"

She didn't turn around, nor react as if she heard him. She kept walking up the wood steps, her shoes clacking ever ominously.

His feet were already moving forward, still beckoned by the faint jingling, before he was jerked to halt.

A rough hand in fingerless gloves met blue eyes, before he looked up to a tall man. He couldn't make out any facial features, other than the man having light hair and shaking his head. The man's clothes seemed to swirl between light blue and a deep red.

"You don't want to go there, kid."

He bit his lip, turning his head back to see her now further away. The darkness from the opened double doors was so dark, he couldn't see the hallway.

"But, Mom..."

"Trust me." The man's grip tightened, but not painfully. Strangely, it felt familiar. "That mansion isn't for little kids like you. Nor a place for guys like me."

The boy didn't quite struggle, but he did stop pulling.

_Three bells..._

"What... what happens if I went in?" he asked tearfully. Boys didn't cry, the other boys said so. Except Mom said that it was okay for boys to cry, and Mom was always right on a lot of things. "Will I see Mom again?"

The pause was long, creeping like the chill in his chest as his harsh panting slowed to normal breathing. His breath puffed in small clouds before disappearing.

"You'll see her again in there, but neither of you will be able to ever leave," the man answered, his words painfully true.

"Then..." The boy kept staring. Time seemed to crawl to a slow as he watched her continued to walk. The darkness was like a giant monster's mouth. "This... This is a dream. None of this is real, is it."

A soft chuckle, but he could tell the man wasn't really laughing. It felt sad. "Yeah, this is a dream. But what's real is that... it can lead to a nightmare you'll never wake up from."

He bit his lip again, this time letting the man pull him close to his warmth that seemed to burn away the snow around them. As much as part of him wanted to deny the reality of it, another part knew that once he stepped through those doors, there was no turning back.

Darkness swallowed her.

The double doors closed with a low groan and a heavy thud that seemed final.

_Four bells._

Tiny fists tightly grabbed on to the warm jacket as he buried his face into the man's stomach, letting the tears finally fall. The smell of leather, gunpowder, and something else was soothing.

"Take me home?" he whispered.

He felt small as the arms picked him up easily, yet he wrapped his own around the man's neck, taking in the comforting warmth.

"Yeah... Let's go home."

_One bell._

-2-3-1-2-4-5-

Leon blinked up from his shot glass of whiskey as Dante quietly slipped into the spot next to him on the sofa.

"...bad dream?" the agent asked softly, pouring out one.

"Somehow saved a kid." The hunter took a sip. "I saw Mother."

"...mine as well."

Dante paused, his glass halfway up to his lips. "Night time, full moon?"

Dark blonde eyebrows furrowed. "Stone steps and stone lanterns through a forest."

"Snow that kept falling but didn't pile up." The half-devil didn't like that feeling creeping up his spine.

"Giant mansion of East Asian design." Leon searched his brain. "Japanese, I think."

"And stopped said kid that's likely _us_ from going in as Mother went through the double doors..." Dante slowly laid out.

"...because if we stepped past that boundary, we'd never get out or wake up," the former officer finished.

The silence that hung between the cousins was heavy, on how unwittingly close they brushed with death without realizing it.

"They do say sometimes, the lines between the living and the dead are blurred when we sleep and dream," Dante mused. "Not just when we're awake and are aware. Lady mentioned how sometimes, the living's longing and regrets can drag them to those gone, via places that sit on the edges."

Leon said nothing, simply looked into his empty glass.

The clock striking four-thirty felt like half of a death knell and half of relief.

* * *

**A/N:** For DMC Gen Week 2019 on Tumblr, Day 5 - Dreams/Nightmares. Follows "Nibble, Nibble", after "Hygge and Wabi-Sabi."

Yeah, I've been watching a playthrough of _Fatal Frame V: Maiden of the Black Water_, and reading through the Fatal Frame wiki. The mansion is obviously the Manor of Sleep from _Fatal Frame 3: The Tormented_.

Title is a combination of lyrics from the Handmaiden's Song from _Fatal Frame 3_ and Linkin Park's song "New Divide."


End file.
